Five years ago, Jeff Bezos stood on a darkened stage in Washington, DC, a large black curtain covering a platform behind him. Clad in a grey suit and black shirt, he expounded the virtues of exploring the moon to a crowd of journalists and space enthusiasts. “It’s nearby. It’s three days away,” Bezos said. “You can go to the moon just about anytime you want.”

Moments later Bezos raised his hand, and the curtain swept away to unveil a massive spacecraft called Blue Moon. It was a lunar lander that his aerospace company had been working on for three years, he said, designed to take cargo – and eventually people – to the moon’s surface. What he didn’t mention is that the lander was a prop constructed for the event. Blue Origin had – and still has – years to go before it can deliver a functioning vehicle.